March 10, 2017

Malegaon to Malegaon: The status of Hindu right-wing terror cases

The acquittal of former RSS member Asseemanand and six others on
Wednesday in the 2007 Ajmer dargah blasts has returned focus to Hindu
right-wing terror cases.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA)
was in charge of probing seven such cases, three of which have concluded
at the trail court level. Here’s a status check by HT: Malegaon blasts (2006)

Four blasts took place outside a mosque in Malegaon in September 2006, killing 38 people.
(HT file photo)

CASE: Four explosions took place outside a mosque on September 8, 2006, killing 38 people.
PROBE:
The Maharashtra ATS and CBI chargesheeted nine Muslims. The NIA, which
took over the case in 2011, filed another chargesheet naming four
alleged Hindu extremists. The special court hearing the case discharged
all the Muslim accused arrested by state ATS.
STATUS: Trial yet to begin.Samjhauta Express blasts (2007)

Powerful
bombs ripped through two compartments of the Samjhauta Express train,
the rail link between India and Pakistan, during the intervening night
of February 18 and 19, killing 68 people.
(HT file photo)

CASE: Explosions occurred near Dewana
railway station in Haryana’s Panipat district, killing 68 people, mostly
from Pakistan, on the night of February 18. The train was on its way to
Lahore from Delhi.
PROBE: The NIA has filed chargesheet against eight people, of whom one is dead and two are at large.
STATUS: Trial is on.Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast (2007)
CASE: A powerful IED blast in Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid area of Hyderabad on May 18, killed 14 people.
PROBE:
The Hyderabad police rounded up dozens of Muslims but could not get any
breakthrough.The case was then handed over to the CBI, which arrested
Aseemanad, an accused in the Samjhauta train blasts case also. The first
chargesheet was filed by the CBI, then the case was handed over to the
NIA.
STATUS: Trial is on.

Ajmer dargah blast (2007)
CASE:
A tiffin bomb exploded on October 11 during Ramzan at the Khwaja
Moinuddin Chishti Dargah in Ajmer, killing three people and injuring 12.
Later, three more bombs were recovered from the premises.
PROBE: Of 13 accused, three are absconding and one -- Sunil Joshi -- is dead.
STATUS:
A Jaipur court on March 8 convicted three persons -- Joshi, Devendra
Gupta and Bhavesh Patel -- but let off former RSS member Aseemanand and
six others.Sunil Joshi murder (2007)
CASE:
Sunil Joshi, the leader of an alleged Hindu extremist group believed to
be behind most of the right-wing Hindu terror cases, was shot dead on
December 29, 2007 when he was walking back to his hideout at Chuna
Khadan locality in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. The group included Pragya
Singh Thakur, Lokesh Sharma, Sandeep Dange, Ramji Kalsangra, Rajendra
Pehelwan, Dhan Singh, Amit Chauhan and Aseemanand.
PROBE: After
completing the investigation, the NIA handed over the case to the Madhya
Pradesh police saying it had not found any evidence to suggest that his
murder was linked to the larger Hindu terror conspiracy. The agency
alleged that Joshi was killed by his own men as they were unhappy over
his ‘misbehaviour’ with Pragya Singh Thakur.
STATUS: Trial ended on February 1, 2017. All eight accused, including Pragya Singh Thakur, acquitted.Malegaon and Modasa blasts (2008)

A blast in Malegaon in September 2008 killed six persons.
(HT file photo)

CASE: Twin explosions took place in Malegaon
(Maharashtra) and Modasa (Gujarat) on September 29. Improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) mounted on motorcycles were planted at both
locations, killing a total of eight persons.
PROBE: The
Maharashtra ATS claimed to crack the Malegaon case. Pragya Singh Thakur,
along with a serving army official, Prasad Srikant Purohit were
arrested and chargesheeted in the case.
STATUS: The NIA dropped
charges against Pragya Singh Thakur and the special court is yet to take
a call on it. The Modasa blast case was closed by the NIA citing lack
of evidence.

Map of L K Advani's Rath Yatra of 1990

About Us / Disclaimer

This is a collaborative space run by an informal collective of people from across India and elsewhere. The blog was started many years ago under the aegis of South Asia Citizens Web. All web content placed here is done in public interest; it may be freely used by people for non commercial purposes. Please remember to give credit to original copyrighted sources and seek permission for further use.Disclaimer:Posting of content here does not constitute endorsement by the Communalism Watch Cooperative.